Navy torpedo boat PT 109 was rammed AUGUST 2, 1943, by a Japanese destroyer and sunk.
The
commander sustained permanent back injuries yet helped survivors swim
miles to shore, which unfortunately was behind enemy lines in the
Solomon Islands.
After a daring rescue, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corp Medal for heroism.
Though one of his brothers was killed in the war, he went on to become a Congressman, Senator, and the 35th U.S. President.
His name was John F. Kennedy, who stated in his Inaugural Address:
"Let
us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help,
but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
In the White House Rose Garden, November 21, 1961, John F. Kennedy said:
"When
we all - regardless of our particular religious convictions - draw our
guidance and inspiration, and really, in a sense, moral direction, from
the same general area, the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments, we
have every reason to believe that our various religious denominations
should live together in the closest harmony..."
Kennedy concluded:
"The
basic presumption of the moral law, the existence of God, man's
relationship to Him - there is generally consensus on those questions."
Get the book, Prayers and Presidents-Inspiring Faith from Leaders of the Past
At the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, February 9, 1961, President John F. Kennedy stated:
"This country was founded by men and women...dedicated to two propositions:
First, a strong religious conviction, and
Secondly a recognition that this conviction could flourish only under a system of freedom..."
Kennedy continued:
"The
Puritans and the Pilgrims of my own section of New England, the Quakers
of Pennsylvania, the Catholics of Maryland, the Presbyterians of North
Carolina, the Methodists and Baptists who came later, all shared these
two great traditions which, like silver threads, have run through the
warp and the woof of American history..."
Kennedy added:
"Let us go forth to lead this land that we love, joining in the prayer of General George Washington in 1783,
'that
God would have you in His holy protection...that He would most
graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy,
and to demean ourselves with...the characteristics of the Divine Author
of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example we
can never hope to be a happy nation.'"
President Kennedy concluded:
"The guiding principle and prayer of this Nation has been, is now, and ever shall be 'In God We Trust.'"
Get the book, American Minute-Notable Events of American Significance Remembered on the Date They Occurred
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